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it is a book about (generational) grief, loneliness and depression. i think. and there seems to be some sort of allegory about the first year of the covid-19 pandemic.

but, ultimately, i don't know what the story is actually about. i mean, i probably do, but is it compelling? not to me. i hope that someone else could say otherwise though.

the reasons why i managed to finish it is that the writing in itself is good and it's a novella after all so wasn't going to waste too much time.

on a positive note, i liked the quieter (and more realistic?) approach to an "end of the world" scenario humans take in this story. it felt more true and relatable with what was going on (unlike most of the dystopic looters/scavengers/gangs that overcrowd most of these kind of stories).

i know im projecting, but i kept hoping that butler's sequels would have been different. instead, like in xenogenesis and many other scifi and fantasy sagas, the defeating of one enemy/the end of one conflict just meant the rising of a new one. and so the stories are always about death and rebirth and never about whatever comes after birth.

moreover, having earthseed being a religion drawn away even more of what could be the tiniest possibility of having a community-building/community-driven story. in fact, eventually, it was just about the rising of scientology. lol. for real.

on a personal note, i really dislikes asha vere. she got the chillest life ever compared to her moms and still was unable to show a hint of empathy towards her. olamina could have been as particular as you want, but giving her less than nothing while still grasping onto your uncle priest who abducted you was kind of grim.

finally, she was such a fucking good writer. like, literally, it's so hard to stop once you start reading anything of her. i wish she's happy and doing well, wherever she is. may her rest in power.

the fight between olamina and bankole is ultimately the fight between nuclear family and community family (or just community?). individualistic vs collective approach to life.

which makes sense since acorn seems to be an amazing anti-capilist-ish community based around mutual aid (i mean, the way the school works is amazing).

but the two things that bother me a lot are:

• the religious aspect (earthseed) which i find totally unnecessary;

• the doubt that butler herself wasn't aware of it? the narrator is clearly against the community, even though it might be mainly for the "religious" aspect, nonetheless...

and then, again, i feel like butler believed humans were inevitably naturally evil. im gettin this through the younger bother marc (amongst many other characters) as well as the whole xenogenesis trilogy.

that is not a good starting point to start any community work imo.